📖 Meaning
The crimes are so grave that even the death penalty is insufficient to atone for them. It describes wrongdoing so extreme that no punishment can adequately address the offense.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase comes from Ming dynasty scholar Shen Defu's work 'Ye Huo Bian' (Unofficial Gleanings), in a section discussing the Hanlin Academy's top scholars. Shen criticized the carelessness of official historiographers, noting that accounts drawn from various sources matched only one or two out of ten facts. He concluded that such negligence in compiling history was a sin that even execution could not adequately punish.
💡 Example Usage
这个恶徒残害无辜百姓，真是罪不胜诛。
This villain harmed innocent people; his crimes are beyond what any punishment can atone for.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 罪不胜诛
- Pinyin: zuì bù shèng zhū
- Literal Translation: crime, not, exhaust, punish
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4